Management
Other Pages In Preparing for Careers and for Graduate and Professional Schools
Careers in management and business usually require postbaccalaureate training in professional or graduate schools, where admissions officers seek out students with a solid grounding in a wide variety of fields, particularly the social and behavioral sciences. Graduate schools do not require specific major programs, and students in majors across the curriculum build the foundation they will need for advanced training in specialties like international business, personnel management, hospital administration, arts management, banking and finance, marketing, operations research, accounting, labor and industrial relations, transportation and public utilities, and insurance.
Many schools have specific course prerequisites. These often include courses in accounting, micro- and macroeconomics, statistics, and calculus. Students are advised to review the admission requirements of the programs of interest to them so that they can plan their undergraduate programs accordingly.
Most graduate schools of business require applicants to submit scores earned on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). In addition, graduate schools of business generally seek applicants who have supplemented their academic pursuits with activities that have enabled them to develop and exercise their leadership potential and organizational skills. Many such activities are available at UCSB, including participation in student organizations and government and in one of the various internship programs sponsored by an academic department or by the UCSB Applied Learning Program. Full-time work experience is important for admission to many schools of business; some of the most prestigious programs have initiated a process of deferred admission to ensure that students have the necessary work experience before they undertake graduate study. Interested students are invited to consult the college pre-professional advisor, Career Services, and the advisors in the Department of Economics.